Sonic Generations officially announced

Sega officially took the wraps off of Sonic Generations today, a game that doubles as a 20th anniversary retrospective of the hedgehog with "tude." The game is set for a holiday release this year on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Sonic will be playable in his 1991 "Chubby" incarnation as well as the sleeker, modern Sonic. The game will include call-backs to environments from the older Sonic games, rendered in HD and playable in both classic 2D and the modern 3D modes. Both Sonics also come equipped with the full complement of identifiable Sonic moves. Finally, the announcement promises an "interactive new menu system" to interact with characters and gather treasures. Yes, seriously.

The dual Sonics are explained by mysterious "time holes," which bring together various Sonic characters from present and past. The two have to work together to find out who opened up the time holes. Spoiler: It's Dr. Eggman, because of course it is.

We suspected something along these lines when we saw Sega's 20th anniversary teaser trailer. This was backed up only a few days later when rumored logos were found for Sonic Generations and Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games. This doesn't necessarily confirm Sonic will be racing around jolly old England, but we wouldn't be too surprised.